Want to build a reprap but don't know where to start!

I have a makerbot 3D printer and would like to make a reprap. I know how it all works just don't know which would be the 1st reprap to start building. Printrbot or huxley or prusa or Mendel. Also, I don't know where to get the hardware and don't know a whole lot about electronics. Please help I really want to make the next step to reprap!

First step is where are you based, second I would build a Prusa as the Mendel is really fiddly to build and use way too many bearings

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Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Or just go to the top of the food chain with a MendelMax or Mendel Prism...

Tip - read as much as you can about the various models, especially the Bill of Materials(BoM) for each and the build instructions. How comfortable are you in winging it? If you prefer a lot of documentation/support then go with one that you feel will hold your hand through your build.

Also, doing your research will lead you to questions you never thought of. I just finished my Prusa in March and already I'm wishing I had done more research. Would have built a MendelMax...

Also, if you're not particularly inclined to using tools then one of the extruded aluminum models may be better for you as you can have the extrusion pre-cut to the length specified in the BoM.

Luckily you can print out the plastic bits with your makerbot.

Good luck!

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- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

Loving my Prusa V2! But make sure you really figure out your needs (accuracy, cost, etc)

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Ryan
Quality Engineer & Hobbyist
thingsandtrains.blogspot.com

A follow up,
What electronics would you guys suggest for a mendelmax and would replicatorG work as I have gotten really comfortable with the use. I notice a lot of people use something called ponterface and reprap software

My suggestion:

Prusa mendel v2
Ramps 1.4 / Arduino Mega 2560
Skeinforge + Pronterface

I agree with Akhlut that the Max looks like the top of the food chain...and I may be looking to build one as a future project. However I too was recently looking at my first build, and being not terribly constrained by the money, went for the makergear prussa kit. In fact, had the USPS not hired ninjas to place notices on doors, I would have had it today.

In my case the thought was, I could put it all together, get a set of plastic parts, get hardware, get the electronics, and then, assuming I sourced the right set of parts, build it. However, the variables were a bit more than I liked. I found various plastic parts sets available, each slightly different (often the extruder), requiring slightly different arrays of parts.

Huge problem? No... but given the price differences once I started adding up the most feasible routes, a few hundred bucks seemed worth it for a better chance to be printing within days to weeks instead of months. Looking over their site, I liked some of their design decisions, not using PLA bushings (I mean the purist in me loves them... maybe I will try them on #2), using manafactured pulleys.

However, if I had a printer already.... I think that would change the equation. A second printer can be totally nonfunctional for weeks, months, or years, without effecting my ability to print. That is a bit more freeing in terms of going off the well beaten path....and the Max would be very very tempting.

I think I am going to go with the MendelMax. As I want one that will last. So if I buy the hardware kit from mendel max and buy 5 nema 17 motors fullly complete ramps and a powersupply a hot end kit is that all I need? It seems like so little am I overlooking things?

You will also need the printed plastic parts. Alternatively, you could make parts from wood, metal, or whatever to hold it together until you can print your own plastic parts . That's what I am doing (using metal).

Ok so I am lookig for the electronics I am going to try Ultimachine ramps 1.4 fully assembled How do I wire the motors and Power supply to it? Any reccomendations for a powersupply? I want to make sure I can actually do this all before I buy

The power supply is attached using pluggable screw terminals. Many people use ATX supplies but if you don't have one on hand any 12V supply capable of 18 amps or so will do. Higher voltages, up to 35V, can be used but you need to modify the board slightly and provide separate 5V power to the Mega, which makes it more difficult to get standalone operation if you want to go that route at a later date.

The motors are connected using DuPont connectors. I dislike these and soldered my motors directly to the pololus - if a motor disconnects under power it will fry its driver, and I never could get the provided connectors to hold reliably. Probably because i wasn't crimping them right, there's a knack to crimping with pliers. If I were to do it again, I#d put the same molex connectors on them as Mendel Parts use for Gen6. The wiring sequence can be tricky to work out since the pololus use non-standards labelling for their motor outputs. It should be documented somewhere. Trial and error works here, getting it wrong won't do any damage.